To My Dear Adventure,
Thank you for the quote. Neil Gaimon has perhaps become one of my favorite authors—if not favorite. Stardust. Coralline. Instructions. One of my favorite episodes of Doctor Who. He is an amazingly inspiring orator in specifically the way I would be inspired: He encourages adventure. I'm not sure if he pursues adventure, but he talks a good game.
Next I would say that I am sorry. I am sorry that I am and have been settling for less than my full potential. I feel like I could, if I desired, have a handle on anything—and everything. The trouble has been trying to decide who this boy inside of me is and how he can possibly choose any one thing and leave so many undone . . . and I think that the answer is that I can't. I can't leave things undone. I don't know how to leave so much life unlived.
For my father and mother a life entirely focused on the home was satisfactory. Blissful even.
For my part I accept that it could be satisfactory, but I want so much more than satisfactory. I want inspired. I want adventurous. I want to be involved with so many and to help so many.
I am coming to accept now that I am, in some ways, other than the boy who went into the film program. That boy wanted to inspire using the means that had inspired him, but that always meant ignoring so much of the things he had been inspired to do. I don't want to just inspire. I want to inspire people to do. To be better. To be happier. There is so much good and beauty out there in the world. Far more good and beauty than bad. All that is lacking are eyes willing to look for that good.
I don't know how we will do it, but I want to take our family out on adventure. Not an occasional adventure either. I want adventure to be the norm. I want excitement to ooze out our pores. I want to work with the world, for the world, and in so doing find the happiness of a faithful saint with eyes for beauty and adventure. I want more time with my children and my wife. I want our adventures to be shared adventures. I want our eyes recording the same goodness and beauty. Our lungs breathing the same exhilarating moments of life. Our hands working the same good in the world.
You are my beautiful companion. My good company. Our children are the most desirable traveling mates. We can do and see incredible things, and we will.
Oh the places we'll go.
I will write. I will write and work and look and pray harder than ever before and we will find the path that has been hidden in plain sight and then you and I and our family will sail off for adventure forever.
.Patrick
Sent from my iPad
